


.... but fire purges all

by rocket_rach



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Batman And Robin - Freeform, Body Horror, Bombs, Dick and Dami Week 2019, Elaborate bombs, Gen, Goodbyes, Hurt No Comfort, Jason Todd Effect, Loss, Major character death - Freeform, One Joker Two Robins - What happens next will Hurt You, Separation, Violence, im so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:01:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18466678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocket_rach/pseuds/rocket_rach
Summary: For dick and Dami week day 7 - Separationcontinuation of "the rain can't wash all your sins away"Nightwing and Robin wake up in the warehouse





	.... but fire purges all

The ropes woke him up. The chains rattling did as well. Blinking, Dick tried understanding the situation he was in. He was tied up with ropes and chains, spread-eagled on what he thought was a wall. He turned his head, praying to all the gods, both unknown and known that Robin would be near him. He spotted the red clad boy to his left and was nearly relieved.

“Robin,” He groaned. God, his head _hurt_.

“Ni-nightwing,” the boy groaned as he stirred.

“Status?”

“Head, legs, and I think a few ribs are broken. I’ll survive. You?” Robin asked.

“About the same. My head is killing me something awful,” he sighed. “My stomach hurts, too.”

Dick glanced down, noticing that his costume was torn. He chalked it up to the tussle with the Joker, because there had to have been one. He wouldn’t let the Joker knock him out with one hit. He was better than that.

“Mine, too,” Robin murmured. “Still think we’re in the same place?”

“Oh-ho-ho, you naughty boys! Did you _really_ think that dear old Uncle Joker would take you to a secondary location? Secondary locations only delay the bat,” The clown’s voice reached them. “I want him to be here for the main event.”

“Fuck you—”

“Robin!” Nightwing scolded.

“No, no, let the newest boy wonder finish. I do love my Robins with a little zest in them. That one I got in Ethiopia? So violent. So zesty. You,” The Joker spun, pointing what looked to be a remote at Nightwing’s chest. “you thought you were so clever. So funny. Admittedly, you did have a knack for puns that the others failed at. But you were never reactive enough. Always had Batsy to take you back from the fun part of living in this city. He’d always yank you out before the bombs went off. Before the people of Gotham would truly go out with a bang. Anyway, newest Boy Wonder, you were saying?”

“I said, fuck you,” Damian spat.

“Hmm. I’m a little bit disappointed. I’d thought there’d be more. Especially tonight. I assume all you birds have get togethers and discuss what happened on this night? A sort of Alcoholics Anonymous for bird boys, if you will.”

They were quiet.

The Joker frowned. He stomped a little further away from them, looked at the remote in his hand. Nightwing coughed, and the comm in his ear clicked to life. He could hear Batman ordering him and Robin to respond. But they’d taken the original Batmobile. The one car that didn’t have a tracking device in it. Batman was driving blind through the city. He wanted the Joker to come closer, so Batman could pinpoint the place they were at, and the threat they were both facing. Behind the white lenses of his mask, his eyes flickered to the boy at his side. If anything, Nightwing decided, he was going to get Robin out of this. The Joker turned back to them, still frowning mightily.

“I thought he’d be here by now,” he complained. “I wanted to monologue. I was rehearsing it in my cell, you know. I had this whole spiel. I was going to talk about killing that Crime alley brat; oh, don’t give me that look. We all know kids from that alley have a very distinct accent. Then I was going to carry onto killing one of you, or both of you if you tried being heroes. But, I’ll cut to the chase. Your stomachs hurt, don’t they?”

They were quiet, but Nightwing took a closer look at the tear in his costume, and the tear in Robin’s. It was almost surgical. But there was no blood. He strained his head, trying to get a better look at Damian’s costume. They were cut in the same place.

“While you were having your beauty rest, I had a dear friend from Arkham perform a little… cosmetic surgery. I thought to myself, ‘Well, Joker, bombs in buildings are so two Robins ago. So blasé. Why not a bomb _in_ a Robin?’ and let me say this, Doctor Magary did not disappoint. I only had to kill his family once for it! Can you believe it?” He broke into laughter, holding the remote to his face as he doubled over. “It was quite a deal!”

“He’ll figure out how to disarm it and throw you back into Arkham before you can press the button,” Robin snarled.

“No, he won’t. I saw that car you have outside. It’s old. He’s probably flapping his useless wings around the city looking for you.”

Nightwing closed his eyes. He could hear Batman shouting that he found their location and was en-route. But Joker’s plans were rarely this simple. 

“So, here’s the deal, boy blunders. Bats can only save one of you. This remote is set to detonate in twenty minutes. But, it will only detonate the bomb that’s closest to it. Which is why I stole Gotham’s finest batch of concrete,” He walked back to a corner, and dragged a dram to the center of the room. Robin and Nightwing watched in horror as the Joker dropped the remote into the dram. He turned to them, all smiles. “Then my dear, dear friend, Scarecrow, whipped up a bomb of his own design with some other Arkham residents. And that,” he said as he placed the wire covered lid on top. “is set to detonate in fifteen. So, you boys must excuse me. I’d love to stay and watch the drama unfurl but… must look out for number one! Toodle-oo!”

The Joker blew a kiss to them and hightailed it out of there.

A minute and a half later, the boys heard the Batmobile’s engine roaring towards them.

“Robin,” Nightwing started. “I couldn’t have picked anybody better to take on that mantle.”

“Don’t,” Robin growled, his head snapping around to look at Nightwing. “He’ll save us both. He’ll find a way. He always _does_.”

Nightwing took a deep breath. He remembered Damian’s first week in Gotham, and how he’d taken it upon himself to fight all the Robins. He remembered tying Damian up to a street light and calling Bruce. Damian’s first family dinner where he didn’t try killing any of his other brothers. Robin bringing home Batcow. Damian, finally naming and loving Titus. How he would talk to Pennyworth the cat, telling him everything about their adventures. He saw Damian and Jason talking on the roof of Wayne Enterprises; arguing how they would run the League of Assassins and the Justice League. He saw Tim and Damian analyzing every single minute piece of evidence, discussing motive.

He saw Bruce and Damian slowly coming to understand each other. He saw them laughing together, scowling together, and kicking ass together.

Nightwing already had all of that with his brothers. Who was he to deny that to Robin?

Batman finally broke through the skylight, shattered glass raining around them. Dick took his chance.

“He put a bomb in Robin! You’ve got to get him out of here before it detonates!” Nightwing shouted as Batman approached.

“No!” Damian screamed. “He’s lying!”

“Take care of him, B. Keep him safe and _get him out of here_. I can get out of these. I’ll be fine but you need to take him and go, right now.”

As Nightwing predicted, Batman set to work freeing Robin. He broken the heavy ropes, used the torch to melt the links on the chain and soon had Robin restrained.

“He’s lying, Batman! You have to save him, too,” Robin was snarling, fighting against Batman viciously. 

“Nightwing?” Batman finally asked.

“Just get him out of here, okay? He doesn’t need to see this. Neither do you. Please. B,” Nightwing swallowed back the sobs that were building in his chest. “Keep him safe, okay? I don’t know where the Joker ran off to, but it can’t have been far. You can still get him.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Batman almost released Robin. 

“It’s better if I don—”

“What happened to your costume?”

“Happened in the fight. I promise, B, it’s nothin—”

“He put one in you, too, didn’t he?” Batman asked.

Nightwing went quiet. Which was all the time Robin needed.

“We won’t let you die! We’ll figure it out, okay? Batman and Robin will save you. We always do. We still have ten minutes. We can do this.”

“Better me than you, kiddo. Listen, B. He’s come so far, He’s going to be great. I’ve already done more than other people have even dreamt about doing. Just- Just give him the chance you gave me, okay?”

Batman clutched Robin tighter to his side. Dick and Bruce had mastered the art of nonverbal communication years ago. Because of that, Batman refused to leave. Dick was terrified. His eldest watched him, trying his damndest to show his father that so long as Bruce and Damian were safe, he’d be happy.

“We’ll find a way, Nightwing,” Batman finally spoke. 

Dick heard his voice crack.

“No, you won’t. Now c’mon, we only have about eight minutes before this thing blows. Keep him safe, Bruce, or so help me god I will haunt you for the rest of your days. Robin,” He sniffled. “Be good. Okay?”

“No!” Damian screamed as Bruce tightened his arm around his youngest son. “We have to save him! Stop! _Let me go_!” 

Dick closed his eyes as Batman ran like hell from the building, Damian screaming all the way. Dick tilted his head back until it rested against the wall. 

_Alfie, does he always brood in the office like that?_

_You’re the Batman?_

_Batgirl is kind of cute, Brucester._

_You can’t be Robin just because you stole Batman’s tires._

_I miss Jay, Bruce. I’m sorry I wasn’t around more._

_This is dangerous, Tim. This isn’t a game._

_I love you, Babs._

_Bruce, yeah. I have this kid here. Says he’s your son._

“Nightwing to Robin,” he spoke after the dynamic duo had enough time to get to a safe distance. his comm still active in his ear. “We were the best, kiddo.”

“Grayson!” Damian howled. “Come home, right now—"

The dram exploded.

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to Toni for letting me run wild with this idea!
> 
> im so sorry. i really am. if it helps at all, i was very emo when i was writing this.


End file.
